The Sun. — London, England, 1810-04-28 00:00:00

4 _r~ wry _^~y.s~crta:~~.~ w;r+~ a PAP.EiS IU TO THE CAMPAIGN IN PORTUGAL AND SPAIN. (First fnclostire retered to in No. IJ. topY of a Letter train Sir Arthur %Veil sley. to the Marquis Wellesley, Gatai Deleytosa, Bth August, dc.9. Containing S,•venlin.:lo:;ures t twin A. to G. MY Lon D, , I have received. your Excellency's letter of the 3 i‘t twin Cadiz. 1 concii:de that MT. Frere 'ill tn.ike.your ,Excellency acquainted with the general s ;nation of atfairS of Spain, a; .d I have the honour .•%nclosea , opy of, my dispatch of ;this date to the S4cretari of State, which will make you,acquainted with the circunisi inces which have rendered it ne , cess vy for the armies to take up a defensiie vosi tio actin - xi the 'nos , 1 have already apprised Mr. 'Frure, in a private Ictiter, of my opinion Tat it would be mcessary, t 9 ,p it in motion the Marquis de Rornan - a's, or the Duque del Parquv 7 s force in the North - of Spain, to induce the enemy to weaken his force in Estrema thira before the armies Could resume offensive opera (ions.- in r mean time 'it is necessary that many ar _ rangerraents,,should be adopted, to enable the tr oo p s to take'advantage of-any success they may have in an offen,ive operation, or even to maintain their de- . -fensive positions. * I will endeavour to detail them in this dispatch with - my reasons fat' thinking them absolutely feces-. sary. The first of these is the formation of magazines of provisionS . and forage, particularly biscnit, bar ley, and cattle, at reasonable distances in the rear of the armies. • • - This part of 'Spain, is but thinly inhabited, and but ill cultivated,, in proportion to its extent and its fertility : and, it is nearly exhausted. As now equipped, i the armies, amounting t o not less than -sixty thousand mouths, and sixteen pr eighteen thousand ltorses,, depend entirely for their daily supply cal provisions upon the_country which does not contain a population in an extent of many_ square miles equal to the numbers of, the army, and of course cannon produce a sufficiency for its suste nance, It is necessary, therefuee, ,o send to great distances for supplies, which are producediwith dif - fieelty ; the troops are ill-fed, and not regularly, and very frequently receive no food avail. The next arrangtinent to be made is to supply the armies with means of transpott ; not only to. move forward the magazines, when that may be, n cessary, w eels :ncans should be especially attach— e to the magazine., ; but also means of transport to eaable the-army to communicate „with the maga ztnes, or to send to any part of the country for sup piles of pinsisions or forage : three thousand or four thousand mules would eff,Jc:tually answer .the first objeff ; and I should consider the British army well Supptie3 .with what it would require, if it had fifteen hundred mules, and about a,huedred of the Valera tia, or Cat Tiernan mule carts. - These measures-are equally necessary for the Spa- Aish the British armies. No troops can serve to" av good pureuse, ueless they ate regularly fed, and it is an error to suppose that a Spaniard, or that a Man cmani.eal of an country can make an exertion without food. In fact, Lie Spanish troops are, more claim:rous for their, food, and more exhausted if they do- ndt receive it regularly, than_our own are. The Other points to which I wish to draw your attention are referable to the state of the Spanish troops. - My opinion is that an exertion ought to be made immediately to clothe them in the national uniform. By the adoption of this measure tie practice which prevails, I am sorry to say, very generally, of throw= - away their arms and accoutrements, and running away, and pretenyling to, be peasants, must be disconti nued. Large bodies could not change their clothing or the distinelive marks of dress in a soldier ; and it is Probable that as , they.would not only find no se curity, but rather increase their danger by throwing away their arms and accoutrements in. their flight; the State would not so frequently. sustain the loss of these valuablearticles. Another advantage4hich would result. from the more general use of the national urtiform, is, that it would be in the power of the General to pdnish the troops who misbehaved before ,the enemy, in the the manner most, likely to affect the feelings of the SpanTards, viz. by d sgrace. When a number 'of peasants are collected to gether, with arms in their hancis and in the garb of peasants, it is,difficult to hx a mark upon those corps or individualS • who have behaVed ill which shall pisint them out as objectsof execration to the whole community, and yet' it is aeknowledged that a pu nishment of this desCription would hate ten tunes the effea of - that whioh has lately been carried into execution in the Spanish army on account of the misbehaviour of some- corps in the battle of Tala - vera,Niz. that of putting to death every tenth man • of the number who ran away, ,and a third or fourth Of the Officers: Al the w hole army wore the national Uniform, it Would be possible to disgrace those who should rt-iisbehave; either by depriving them of it, or by affixing - some mark ,to it wi.ich would tend more ' eui crusty than any thing else to preyent a repetit.ton of these misfortunes. It i's difficult *to describe to yonr Lordship the ex tent to which this practice prevails. " While corps, officers and all, run off upon the first appearance of danger ; and. I doubt not that if sthe mull could be a,certained, the army of General Cuesta, which crossed the Tagus, thirty-six or thir tv-eight Thousand stiong, does not now consist of thirty thousand, although it has not lost five ‘ hun dred. men in aelion. The, plan of operations which I should recom mend for the Spanisl nation is one generally of . • defence. They should avoid general actions, but should take advantage.Of the strong points in their country to defend themselves, and to harass the enemy. Their principal army should be colleted on the Tagus, if they can ,hold thA river, or farther back, if they cannot ;, and wherever they can form a boOy of troops, or the Guerillas of the country can be I,ut iu too;ion, they should be employed Upon the enemy's communications, and should be pushed on even to Madrid. i I have the honouz to be, Your Lordship's most obedient hilmble servant, (Signed) ARTHUR WELLESLEY. His Excellency the Marquis Wel lesley, &c. &c. &c. (A. in ° First Inclosure referrekto in No. 2.) Extra& ()la Letter from Sir A. Wellesley to Marshal-Beres lord, dated Placentia, 17th I uly, 0309. I asked General.Cuesta to secure for me the pas sage of Ballos and Perales, and he has occupied, the former, but has left the latter to be Occupied by the Duque del Parque. I wish that you would send somebody to see how' the pass is occupied, and that at all events you would have an eye to the pass. It will make me quite secure, and will render me the greatest service that is their present situation the Portuguese troop's could render. Ido not think that the - Frencla would like to venture through that pass in the present situation of their affairs. • The bridge of Alcantath and Almaraz being im passable, they Would he in a Col de Sac; and *auld have no exit excepting through a desert on the fron tiers of Portugal. (Signed) ARTHUR 'WELLESLEY. (B. in First Inclosure referred to in Np. 2.; Copy of a letter from Sir Arthur Wellesley to General. O'llonoghue, dated Talavera, 3141 July 1809. Sin, Adverting to the intelligence which has been _re ceived of the niovement of the French corps to wards the Puerto de Banos, Lcannot avoid to re quest that you would press his Excellency- General Cuesta to detach towards that quarter, on this night, a division of his infantry, with itsguns, and a Corn, manding Officer on whose exertions and abilities he can rely. I certainly never could have advanced SQ far, if I had not had reason to believe that point was secure; and I still think the movements or General acres ford with the Portuguese army on the frontiers, or that of the Duque del Pagine from Ciudad Rodrigo, combined with the natural difficulties of the country, and the defence by the Marquis de! .Reyno, may delay the enemy's advance till the arrival of this At all• events, this division Will not be missed here, and it will be•'in a - situation'An observe the enemy, if he should have crossed the mountains before the arrival of the division . . - But if the diy;- sion should arrive in time it- w ill perform a most important service to the comwon cause, as if will preclude the necessity of my adopting tnoreeffec tual measures to re-establish and secure my com munications with Portugal, which measures must tend to delay the execution of all our plans against the great body of the enemy. (Signed) " ARTHUR WELLESLEY. ' I have to observe, his Excellency is equally.in lereste'd with me in preventing this irruption into Placentia, as the enemy's first. step will certainly beto interrupt his Excellency's communications witri Seville by the bridge of Altuaraz. Major-General O'Donoginie; &c. &c. 84Q, (C. in First Inclosure referred to in No. 1.) . Copy of a Letter holt; Sir Robert Nilson to Sir Arthur Wel lesley, dated Montilla zd August 1809. MY DEAR GENERAL, The inclosed *ters will probably account for the forward movements of the enemy, who menace me so seriously, that I shall immecliacely retire my ar tillery to St. Roman, occ u pyi ng the Panada with 300 man of the Ronda Battalion. The remaining 600 'will take post on a strong height beyond this town, from whence they have a good retreat to St. Valuela. The main body of infaniry I shall move to Gar . seaten, ready to occupy St. Valuela, or obey such orders as you may give. - _ (Signed) . ROBERT WILSON. Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wel- - , lesicy, &C. &c. &c: • (D. in First Inclosure referred to in No. 2.) Copy of a Letter from Sir Robert Wilson to Colonel Murray (hued Montillo, 20 August, 18.9. SIR, You will perceive by the inclosed letter that ,the enemy have entered Bejar, and I also learn that two thousand five - hundred cavalry have entered Hernizos, a league in my front, and that a column of infantry, the strength of which I know .not, is moving in the Same diredion from Mazerda. From these circumstances it is not inlpos'sible that I may be obtiged to retire to the heights on my rear,, or move to'my right, "should I not receive support from Talavera. Troops that were moving on to Madrid .1 under - Stand hate again advanced, and I. am led to think the enemy either intends t o s t r ik e a bl ow on me, or finish their plan of establishing a free com munication with the reinforcements , they. expe& under Soult. - (Signed) ROI3..YV'ILSON. To Col: Murray, Q.M.G'. • (Inclostire in C. and in 'D). Copy of a Letter from Colonel Lugo_to — 7 , dated Avila, ist August 1809.--with Translation.. • Avila, 7 A.M. t At.itit, 1809. Je recois a 'lnstant votre lettre, Monsieur le Commandant, et je vOus retni✓rcie . ds details qu'elle contietit. Je n'ai encore aucune nouvelle - de la. marche du ,crps dont vous'tne parlez. 11 y a toojours quirize cent hommes de la gainison de Ciudad Rodrigo a Bujar et autant a Bano. Sai des Partis sur l'Alberche, et des espions par tout. Je n'ai•eucore aucune nouvelle de la" marche de Monsieur 1e Marechal Soult, quoi-qu'il doive etre dans les environi - de Placentia. Agreez, Monsieur le Commandant, l'assurance de ma consideration partieuliere. (Signs) Luoo. • Ecrivez rnoi de justi7.e,a justice, c'est le meilleUr tnoyen pour cortespondre.- (tianslation.) ' • Avila, 7 A,. M. ist August, 1209. COMMANDANT, • I have just received your letter, and thank you for the details which it Contains. I have as yet no accounts of the march of the MARKETS. . , At Norwich ,Tornbiand Fair, there • wag n veri ),urge show of fat -Steck, which had a drill sale the latter part of the ,day, when it wa= nearly bought by one jobber, and sent to Srni;bfiel l ''- There were many excell e nt home-hreds, which did credit to the graziers and breeders—one of not four years old, fed only on hay and affair. , W i t sold to Mr. John K ett , an d est i mated to we i g h neat one hundred ston e (i 4 lb s . • to t t re stone ) ! Dere was .a large show of Scotch beasts, Which came °P , in fine conditi on , but. the buyers did not seem ea, e . t to purchase, although the Prices were not higher; but seed is very scarce, and the large annual 811 1 11, Fair is fast approaching. Some lots, however, we, f is disposed of. A remarkably fat and large Cow t `';'j shown, and_also a most , beautiful little High, i ' l „ Heifer, of exquisite symmetry. Cows and Catvci , 4 `speaking generally, were dear, and also yea"' Colts. - B.idiog or Cart Horses, worthy the attentio, of dealers, were not to be ,seen either at the Fair, 0 on the preceding d a y. Th e Sh eep pens were 61 ; c t a in the mornivw, great quantities being cderea sale, and nearly all of them were sold at advanc e _ prices. Altogethe r , we d o not recolleet to have s een s a fuller Fair for m any years, an d muc h business °rad transaeted. The show of Stallions W a s large, than we here were more good horses of this d e s cr iption tO o we have been accustomed to witness. or BURY, APRIL 20.—W e h a d a s h ort supP .Y . Wit: at this week, and such as was good was s o _ for More money than last week ; in oth e r grain lit" or no variation, say Wheat from 42s:to .stis-i ~1 31 ; ley- i 7s. .to e2s. ; O ats 12s. to 1.55. 6,1.; and-o' s d 40s. to 425. per coomb. Household Flour 873. all seconds 8.55, per sack. • l IVISBECH, ,APRIL. 21.—The supply of Grain to ; day was rather plentif 21 ; no alter ation i n price ( 011 , last week worth n o tic , .., 1 except for line Whe 3l " which sold at li t tl e more money. The prices 04 be. quoted as follow :—Wheat 845.• 88s. to 0 9 i 0 -; and Beans 365." to 425. per quarter. O a ts 81. 8 9 . 121. 12s. per last. ICELAND. - OnWednesday . se'nnight SirG.M` Keli c i zie, , accompanied.by Mr. H. Holland, And Bechar Bright, of the University of Edinburgh, sailed fr oth 0 Leith for Stromness, f rom whence they ar e-t d proceed to Iceland, i n ' a vesse l wh i ch is es-Pecl,e there from London. The objet}of this ardno?i undertaking is to expl ore p a r t o f t h at i n h o spitable country, .which, without British comm iserationi would, in consequeO ce o f th e war, b e depriVed - Q the absolute necessaries of life. WEAVING. - Amongst the numerous improve; ments of the present age, that o f we aving figu res on cloth is certainly not the l eas t. A do4sle , mask table-cloth has been woven at Whiteliavenyl the Countess of L ons d a l e , whi c h i s t h oug h t by go. judges to surpass, in point of VVOILIWShiP , 3°)r thing of the kind ev er y procluce'd in that par t , ° f the kingdom. It is f o ur yards and a half in length' and three yards and a quarter in breadth ; the -cen tre exhibits, in the most sdirited and, correct Iva": ner, the Family Arm s ; w i t h a b or d er o f the invt: exquisite fancy. The buds of roses are such would appear to _ _ - ",Bieathe fragrance all around," were it possible f o r th e must to exalt them %%tit' til ! tints of nature.—l n s h ort , t h e loom itself; ' I) " beauty, the fabric, and the amplitude of the 0 41° ' cloth, exceed every thing that can be shewn in t he North North of England. , Monday se'nnight, a Serjeant,of Marines - hung himself in the cellar of. his lodgings, in Best street, Chatham. Some neighbours saw the unfortun3te • man almost as soon as he had committed the meta' Choly act, but weie so alarm e d as to neg lect t" 5 only means of saving hi m , an d ran to acqoajot Inc wife of the circumst anc e, w h o was at somedistauc a off. Nearly half a n hO ur elapsed befOre any Pe rsc ' ea went into the cellar t o cu t hi m d own. H e was th quite dead. The cellar was so low that the unforit; nate man was oblig e d to b en d hi s legs under bin', etred his purpose, e v e n then knees nearly totio" ed the ground. On Tuesday et-eni n g, as a young man of the . na me of Templar, a resident of Clerkerwa, was runnl down One-tree Hill, i n Gretnwich, Nrk, Aft when near the bottom, and brok e hi s leg. 18.!`e,t remaining upward s o f tvk enty minutes in the gred t° ' .agbny, a shutter iA as procured, and h e wa s convey ed to the nearest public-house, the humane landlord o which ref Used admit him and he .was aficrwaf taken to Gree nw i c h Infirmary, where be experie.n ce the most attentiv e treatment f rom the Surgeons' i l and was permitted t o rema i n i n ,.' t h e I nf i rmar y, ° condition of his paying all expences. IR 1 HS. On Monday last, at May's Farm, Oxfordshire, the La" of W. Butler, Esq. of a Son and Heir. On tire 27th inst. at his house in Bedford-square, the Loy of Walter Shairp, Esq. of a Daughter. est,Tday, in Leicester-square, Mrs. Frederick Horn:" of a-Daughter. , • - MARRIED. On the t6th inst. in Dawso - n-street, Dublin, Capt. Fr ere ' ton, of the Canitithlgeshire Militia, to Maria Anna Watson'`o eldest daughter of the late Th o m as B rereton Watson, ESC!' Springfield, in the Comity of Tipperary. On T.hursday last, Mr. 11. Cl ar k e, o f Ch at h am , to Mis o ConqueSt, daughter of George Conquest,-M.D. of the ao''' place. 'fir: same day,- Mr. Robert. Y oung , o f W at lin g , s treet t - Allss Clark., of Leatherhead. At the Cathidral Ch u r c h. B angor, - t h e Re v. j; Ft. _Co t ton, L L.B . Reaor of I 'cry/el). 'ln the Counts' o f Denbig h ,. Precentor of the Cathed ra l, to Mary MILL:, seconddaug il " ta of the' Lord Bishop of that Diocese. DIAD, On Friday the aoth inst. Ann, youngest daughter Of I ° ` sephßrandislw Esq. of Clarges:street. On the 21St first. ill the 73th year of his age, Henry Meg borough, Esq. of Richmond, - in the County of York. On Tuesday last, at Radford, near Shrewsbury, the ? I°ll. Luke Gardiner, second son of the late Viscount MountjoY• Dit , Wednesday evening, after a long and tedious illness?' Mrs. Webs•r, of I Valnut•ttee,row, Lambeth. On-'T;urt,:ay, last,' itfter a painful indisposition of • • r years, - Charles Doniville, Esti. of Stanbroke-Efall, ne 3 Worcester, and of Santry- flouse, near Dublin. P R ai .1"1OCKS • -YEsrtß DAY. Rank ,Stock, 2693 2t9 I n di a Stooc, tgif Navy 5 pet (..ent. 99 • India Botals 17s. pr. Irish 5 per Cent. ' Exchequer ;fills, 6s. rzs. 4 per Lent. 83 j 84 Orrlniurn, 3 per Cent. ken. t9kl imitetiid 3 per CNA'. 3 per ::cnt. Cons. 70* , COLAS. tor 7.; bank L. Ann. ;8 5. IGths I body of 'troops you speak Of. There are, however, 1500 men A.lf the: garrison of Ciudad Rodrigo at Bujar, and as many at Banos. 1 have some detachments upon the Alberehe;and spies in all quarters. I as yet know nothing of htarshal Soult's'march, though he ought to' be in 'the neighbourhood of Placentia. Accept, Sir, the assurance of my high considera tion. (Signed) LUGO. Send your letters from magistrate to magistrate. It is the best mode of corresponding. (E. in First Inclosure referred to hi No. 2 ) Copy of a Letter from Sir Arthur Wellesley to General O'Donoghue, dated Oropesa, 3d August, 180 9 ,.2 P.M. DEAR SIR, I arrived here a little after twelve; but have re ceived no intelligence of the enemy. There is no dust forwards, and I understand that we have -a Commissary. at Naval Moral, who would probably have moved if he had 'heard of, the enemy on this side of the Tietar. I have written to General Basseconrt, to recom mend to him to halt to-morrow , at 'Ceatinelle, and patrole the roads on the Vera de Placentia as well as in his front. The movements of the enemy, which Sir Robert .Wilson announced in his letter of last night, which I gave you this morning, induce ma to think, that he will not endeavour again to' force his way through the village of Talavera; but' that he intends to be in readiness-to aid Sotilt by Esca lona, between ,the Ai&erche and the Tietar. If I • should be correa in this notion, General. Cuesta may be induced to give up, his position at Talavera, and then my hospital these- will be placed in a state of risk : this gives inc great uneasiness. At all events, in the -, ,e - esent state . of our operations, it appears to me that the hospital is too far advanced at Talavera, and I am t•ery desirous of removing it - farther back ; I wish you would mention this sub• ject to General Cuesta, and request him, front me, to make a requisition in the countiy South of the Tagus for carts to- remove the hospital. It is ina- Possible to. hope to be eble to remove it at once; in deed, to attempt it might destroy the 'men whom we wished to save ; but by first fixing upon an in termediate station, at no great - distance from Tala vera, -we might soon remove the whole from thence, and afterwards by degrees to tile place to be ulti mately fixed upon tor the hospital. I cannot avoid again to take this .opportunity of recommending that General Venegas should be or dered to keep the enemy in a state of alarm for the safety of Madrid, by the road of Fuenas and Argava, as the only one by which he can oblige the enemy to keep his forces divided ; this is really necessary, till we shall haVe our rear clear and secure again. • (Signed) ARTHUR WELLESLEY. Major General O'Donoghue, &c. . (F. in First Inclosure to No. 2.) • Copy of a Letter from General O'Donoghue to Sir Arthur Wellesley, dated Talavera, 3d August-18..9, 12 o'Cloelc.— With one Inclosure. • MY-DRAR SLR, You will find inclosed the letters you left with me this morning, and another received since from Sir Robert Wilson. [.inclose-also a letter from King Joseph, and ano7 Cher rum Jourdan to Soult, taken upon a Friar just bioughtin ; it is said in it that the P.r;tizh is twenty-the thousand strong- at least, and, -notwitb stmding, it o! dens Soult to fight yea whenev;4r he will meet you, :without' discontinuing his march, which supposeS he brings thirty thousand men with him at least, and this. is exactly the number die Friar says he lias. In consequence of all, and of the appearance on our left {besides the enemy being this morning at St. Olalla).' of the corps of Marshal Victor, General etle,ta has thought it advisable to follow you, and join you before you meet -Sonit and ,that Victor comes up. What tortures him is the wounded; hut he would always be obliged to leave them if he was forced from his position. Lie intends to march this even ing to Oropesa. . I shall let Colonel Mackinnon know every thing this instant, and there is-nothing in my power but I will' do in favour of the British woundA. The French wounded will be taken goo I care of; orders have been given and repeated to that purpose. I. am dear Sir, a• . &c. &c. &c. • • (Signed) CHARLES O'DoNoGiwz. The Right Hon. Sir Arthur Wellesley, • &c. &c. (Inclosure in F.) Copy of a Letter from Joseph Buonaparte to Colonel Lugo, Governor of Avila, dated barges, 31st July 409. With Translation.* * Vide zzd Inclosure referre 1 Loin t.l of Mr. Frcre's Cor respondence. (G. in First Inclosure referred to in l%to. 2.) Copy of a Letter from Sir Arthur Wellesley to General O'Donoghue, dated Orupesa, 3d 'August, t3s9. MY DEAR SIR. I have just received your letter of this day, and its inclosures ; I acknowledge thiltl do nut con ceive the enemy are likelr to attack you or to-harass me, as they say they will, for s:nne time; and I wish that General Cuesta had remained a little longer ; - Sir Robert must give yoU notice if they break through at Escalona ; and you are 'in time if' you march when )ou find the enemy making that movement, or' breaking up for a forward movement from St 01 7 lalla. You see 'that Joseph, with Stbastiani's corps, is or rather was at Burgas. At all events, I conceive that it will be desirable, • that you should delay your march till morning, and send'off your wounded, commissariat,. baggage, -B,re, and that you should halt in -the wood 'where the 'yenta-is, till the wounded will have arrived at Ar zobispo, and your baggage be here. Depend upon it, you are mistaken in Souk's strength,:and that Victor is without Sebastiani, and the King, who cannot move while Venegas is where he is, can do us do harm. (Signed) General O'bonoshue, ARTHUR WRCLESLRY. &c. &c. &c: P. S. I conclude that you will take care to estab lish a strong post at Arzobi,po, and destroy the bridge at 'Lila% era. LONDON I Printed by 14 1 CH.\ RD HARRIS, or No. 4, Martlett-court, 13ovv-stre,:t ; and Pcblished by' WI LEI AM AR MIC E R SC RI PI'S, South.Mo!ton.street, Grosirinar,sivare' , At the Surr=CFricE, No. 11; Strand. wLere Advertisements, Orders for the Paper, Letters l'Or (he Editor , &c. (post-paid), mint b.! aticircsge-d. 1 . 9 ' N 1 4 T ti,,," , ..,, ~haC Lis Pr ) trn ~ ~l ea hz~s